


Philosophical Happiness

by Negira1239



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Not Beta Read, Philosophical happiness, Reveal?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-01
Updated: 2020-02-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:34:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22507864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Negira1239/pseuds/Negira1239
Summary: Growing up, Adrien was always into philosophical discussions of fate and destiny, and it all derived from his mother. His mother taught him how to be this good person, but he still feels void of happiness despite the fact that he has a pretty privileged and successful life. Luckily, Marinette joins in and talks to him.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 1
Kudos: 37





	Philosophical Happiness

**Author's Note:**

> This was something that I’ve been working on for years (not the story or characters but the actual philosophy). Studying happiness psychologically and philosophy resulted in all the matter discussed within this story, just within the words of these teenagers. And these are all based off real facts, events (in my life), and these are all more or less stuff that I think people should be looking into. I hope you feel a bit inspired by the words in here. Otherwise, start a discussion. 
> 
> Okay here’s the story sorry to hold you up.

Adrien was always a strong believer about destiny. He always believed in karma and zodiacs and other stuff as well, seeing that the whole history of where this started from was his mother.

There was a day that both Audrey Bougeois and Emile Agreste were watching over their daughter and son respectively. The two were in the Grand Paris Hotel, sitting and chatting inside a pent house suite as little Chloe and Adrien waddled around. The adults sat upon a couch in a open space as the two children played with toys on top of the carpet. 

“Adrien,” Chloe said as she posed just like she saw her mom did in that magazine. “Look how pretty I look!”

Chloe wore her first pair of pants that day. Due to infancy and toddlerhood just being recent, Chloe was always placed in dresses to make diaper changes easier. Not to mention, Audrey absolutely hated how diapers made Chloe look fat. Her first pair of pants were a pair of designer sweat pants that were custom made for Chloe’s measurements. The shirt she wore was a bit oversized, but she was observant enough to use her hair tie to bundle it to the side. Her hair was in a messy bun held together with a French pin, since her hair tie was used for her shirt.

“You look pretty Chloe,” Adrien smiled. He loved smiling- and he absolutely loved doing it. Smiling just made him giddy up more- it was somehow amping him up for more exciting things to come. 

“And you look pretty too!” Chloe said, taking a look at Adrien’s attire. 

The blonde boy was in Gabriel branded clothes. He had a white t-shirt, a beige jacket, and a pair of khaki shorts. He even wore Gabriel branded flat socks so he could wear his brand new pair of shoes without having that sock stick out. 

“Thank you Chloe,” he said, smiling even more.

“I do have to say Emilie,” Audrey leaned over and spoke to her from her chair. “Your boy looks rather dashing today.”

“Thank you,” Emilie smiled, shooting a wink at her son. He shot one back too- an attempt of one at least- and she giggled. “And I love your daughters’ outfit! She looks so professional!”

“Well yes,” Audrey snapped her fingers fora servant. “We had custom clothes made for her sizes. I do say she is a little fatter than most babies I’ve seen. But don’t worry! She’ll lose the weight soon. Alfred!”

The butler’s name was Jean. “Yes madam?”

“Can you bring me a glass of water for me and Emilie here?” Audrey asked. “Oh and can you bring in snacks for the kids too?” 

“Yes madam,” the butler bowed and left the room.

“Watch this Emilie,” Audrey said, taking a slick of gum from her mouth. She threw it on the carpet close to the door, making a note to not only Emile but to her daughter Chloe. 

Jean came into the room holding two wine glasses, a vase of sparkling water, and two smaller glasses witha second vase alongside with them. He walked over to the table, carefully balancing all four glasses and two pitchers on a plate, when he stepped on the gum. 

Both Audrey and Chloe gave a light chuckle, watching the butler panic as he realized he stepped on something gross. 

“Be careful Audrey,” Emilie warned her. “Karma’s gonna bite back and it will hurt.” 

“Chloe come over here,” Audrey ordered. As Chloe darted towards her mother, she said back, “Pish posh. Karma is not real you know.”

“GAH!” The Butler slipped on the gum, causing him to lose his balance as he tipped over the whole tray on Audrey- and Chloe. 

The vases of both sparkling and filtered water poured first, spilling all over Audrey and Chloe. The four glasses fell forward to the ground, shattering everywhere in the process. However, with both Audrey and Emilie sharing a couch, they were rather protected by it. 

Adrien was amazed to see her mother look at her son with confidence. She gave a quick smile to him, and then looked at the two drenched Bougeois. The two of them were completely shocked, giving off a vibe of hatred and sadness at the same time. 

“Karma isn’t real now… is it?” Emilie gave a light chuckle as she picked up a wine glass that didn’t shatter from the floor. She even winked at the butler, not giving a bit of attention to both Bougeois.

And that memory stuck in his mind as Adrien grew up. Since then, he learned more from his mother about morals; researched on star signs and zodiacs; he even started reading on palm readings and tarot cards. It was one of those little tendencies and secrets that he and his mother connected on, always giggling behind Gabriel’s and other people’s back. As Adrien grew older, he learned one of the most important lessons from his mother- always be nice to others. It was quite the simple lesson, but it was well worth it. Adrien truly grew into his mothers’ personality, always caring, always giving. And even as she disappeared, Adrien continued acting this way. Despite the protests and the feedback, he pestered on. And he had a good reason to- continuing to act this way was the only way he would remember his mother. 

Even as he became Chat Noir, he continued this philosophy. As he attended public school and met his friends, he carried on; he knew that the first day that he got his powers it was completely destiny. He knew that the day he met Ladybug, it was fated. The universe was speaking to him, the Fates of Greek Mythology had blessed him with amazing super powers, friends, social life, and a soul mate.

But it broke his heart that his father broke apart from him when his mother disappeared. It broke his heart that his partner, Ladybug, didn’t feel the same way about him. And particularly today’s events broke his heart even more. 

A whole year has passed since his last conversation with his mother. He missed the last deep conversation that he’ve had with her; it was an important one as well. It was about his mother wanting him to attend public school, and that was truly one of the last times his mother actually talked back to Gabriel. The conversation itself was over an hour long, and Adrien was hugging his mother the whole time. He felt so weak and little as he sat on the couch with his arms wrapped around his mother. Gabriel sat at the couch opposite, stern and strict as he explained to his mother his future plans of Adrien becoming a model. 

Adrien sat up in his bed. He adjusted his fluffy mess of blonde hair as his mind was returning back to reality. The room was actually quite warm today; sunshine casted into his room through the top windows, illuminating everything In the previously dark room. The boy lifted up his phone from the charging station and checked his notifications before the black cat kwami started to purring. 

“Plagg,” Adrien sighed. “You have fifteen minutes before we have to leave. Start savoring your cheese now.”

“It hasn’t even been five minutes and I got told instructions on how to live my life,” Plagg said as he got up. “Who knew you’d turn into your father’s assistant?”

“Shut up Plagg,” he said, quickly checking his email. 

“You doing good kid?” Plagg asked. The room got bare silent as Adrien got out of bed. He walked over to the restroom, ignoring the kwami’s quips about his well being. 

Ten minutes have passed and Plagg had finished eating his cheese. Adrien had showered, freshened up, and changed within that allocated ten minutes. He walked out of the bathroom and walked straight out towards the dining room. Even Natalie was surprised to see him on time before she came to grab him. 

She quickly informed him of his plans today- school, then fencing, then Chinese, then piano, then homework, then sleep. She also informed him of updates of the company’s events and information, but the entire time he remained silent. He ate his breakfast efficiently, thinking about himself and how mundane his life came to be. 

He went back to his room and found Plagg haven’t even finished his cheese. He was gone for a good twenty- two minutes and he was barely eating his cheese. Guess he had been sleeping. 

Adrien grabbed his bag and a few wheels of Camembert into it. He also grabbed his duffel bag of fencing equipment, and realized that he had a compartment in there for the smelly Camembert. He quickly transferred the cheeses before calling for Plagg to go into his bag.

* * *

“Hey Tikki,” Plagg said, phasing through a wall. 

“Gah!” Tikki yelped, scaring her half to death as she dropped her cookie. “Plagg! What are you doing here? You’re interrupting my cookie!”

“My chosen seems to be on his annual period,” Plagg said as he sat down next to her. “Today seems to be an anniversary about something important with his mom.”

“Isn’t she missing?” Tikki asked for verification. He nodded. “So is he really sad now?”

“Knowing him,” Plagg said. “He’s probably gonna act it out and just be dead for a day.”

“It pains you when your users go through this stuff doesn’t it?” Tikki asked. After being kwamis for thousands of years, they understood human psychology and philosophy by the back of their hand. They were on top of their shit. 

“It’s just so sad,” Plagg sighed. “I want the best for my kittens, but faith wants me to get all the depressed emos in the world. I thought this one would be different you know? But knowing the whole story just seems so...”

“I’ll talk to Marinette,” Tikki decided. “I know this isn’t something we should do for identity sake, but we should do it because it’s to better them. You know?”

“We’ve been though this so many times Tikki,” Plagg sighed. “These two idiots are by far the best ones we’ve ever had.”

“Plagg!” Tikki realized that ten whole minutes have passed. “Go home! You can’t just abandon your chosen like that!”

Plagg flew home actually using all of his energy. He barely made it back in time to Adrien’s bedroom before Adrien finished his breakfast. He quickly gulped down a camembert before sipping into his bag.

* * *

For the beginning of the school day, Adrien acted as normally as he could. 

He put up his fake model smile. He put up with Chloe’s and Lila’s shenanigans. He put up with the education. From setting foot out of the limo to walking out of class for lunch, he did everything he could to imitate what he would normally do. 

“Hey Adrien?” Marinette called as he left the class room, and it took him by surprise.

Usually, Marinette was stuttering, nervous, and always held back from engagement. It was probably from that first day with the gum, but it was always a fact that Marinette was hidden and reserved when it came to interactions with him. But with him being in this... mood... today, maybe he didn’t care? But why was he so shocked then?

“Hey Marinette,” Adrien gave her a smile that had more compassion in it. Usually, seeing or talking to his friends always made him feel better. “Did you need something today?”

Marinette paused. She looked around a bit before signaling Adrien to follow her. She whispered, “May I talk to you privately?” 

Adrien nodded and followed. He walked through the school’s upper levels and eventually found himself in the art room. 

The art room was empty inside. Even the hallways were empty. For being in the art room for the first time, it impressed him that so many people had such creativity for an art form. 

“Marinette?” Adrien asked. “Is something wrong?”

Marinette turned around with tears in her eyes. And it instantly set Adrien off. He quickly ran up to her and immediately grasped her into a hug. His heart started to beat faster as he realized that one of his friends were in danger. Well, not in danger but needed some help.

“Adrien,” Marinette spoke up as she realized that her crush was hugging her. She breathed again and focused on what she wanted to say. “What’s wrong?” Her voice had curled at the end of it, slightly cracking as she asked the question. 

“I asked you first Marinette,” Adrien let her go, somewhat regretting it. He realized that this was a whole new side of Marinette that he had seen. Normally, she was nervous and stuttering. Around Chat Noir, she’s sassy and outgoing and almost confident. But today was a whole new side that he immediately felt... weird? Uncomfortable? Sad? Sad about.“Is something wrong with today?”

“I should ask you that today,” she said, grabbing a paper towel from the sinks and wiping her tears. “You weren’t smiling today.”

Adrien was taken back by her words. How could she have noticed? Adrien had been a model for a while, he should have perfected his model smile. 

“I-I should explain,” Marinette wiped up her tears. “See... I’ve been a fan of your... him... for years. And I would always get magazines with you in them.”

He was a little flattered that Marinette didn’t say father or Gabriel, and even more flattered that she said she had photos of him.

“And since we’ve became close, I started noticing from you your true smile versus your model smile,” Marinette coughed, realizing how dry her throat became. “Adrien... is something wrong with today? I... just want to let you know that I care.”

Adrien didn’t even realize that his eyes were red and spilling water. He didn’t realize he was started to breathe faster. He didn’t even realize that he had fell to a bench, and was clenching said bench with both hands until they turned purple. 

“M-Marinette...” Adrien said, a little unsteady with his voice. He was really trying to conjure a sentence, but he was so shaken by this reality that another thing had flooded his mind. 

Destiny. Fate. Soulmates. 

Adrien Agreste grew up knowing that anything that happens to him (generally speaking) is an act of a divine being or entity awarding and cursing him at the same time. Him being raised rich and sheltered- both curse and award. Gabriel being a prick- curse, but it’s an award because he would spend time with his mother more. His mother disappearing- a curse, but also an award because of him being able to attend public school and make friends. Chat Noir- an award but a curse too!

But this was truly something that clogged his mind. Was this a new life divergent that would be an award but a curse as well?

He realized that this flash of ideas distracted him so much that he had been speechless this whole time. 

“Adrien...” Marinette walked over and grabbed a stool. She lifted it up and sat a half meter away from him. “I know... we’re not that close... but you can tell me anything.”

* * *

Marinette was grabbing her books from her locker when Tikki popped up.

“Marinette...” Tikki whispered.

“Yes Tikki?” Marinette was somewhat startled by the interaction. Usually, she would stay in her purse and remain hidden. But something was setting her off.

“Adrien seems... different?” Tikki didn’t know how to word it.

Marinette glances at the blonde talking with Nino and Alya. The two were talking about their date with Adrien and he gave a light chuckle with that model smile. “You’re right. He seems off.”

“Try talking to him about it!” Tikki said softly, but more direct. “I’m sure it’ll work.”

* * *

Marinette wasn’t expecting to see Adrien break down in front of her. Tikki’s warning was true, as she sat a half meter away from him. 

She lightly rubbed his knee to bring him her attention. “We have an hour and a half for lunch. Take your time.”

Before Adrien could even begin to function, Marinette handed her a paper towel she had snagged earlier. He accepted it in wrapped his whole face with it; wiping off tears, boogers, and the rest. 

A whole ten minutes of silence was what it brought for Adrien to calm down and to start talking. He spent that time determining what he could tell her and what he couldn’t tell her. He decided to only hide the Chat Noir related stuff; everything was going on full blast.

“Today is the one year anniversary of my last conversation with my mother.” Adrien said, ending the silence. “Most people cherish the last day they see that person, but I honestly cherish this more than the last time I saw her.”

“That’s reasonable,” Marinette said slowly, trying her best to not mix her words up. At this point, her consciousness locked out any stuttering, as this point she knew this was going to get deep and she can’t think about crushing now. “What was it about?”

“It was...” Adrien looked around the room, observing the marvelous splashed of paint and light that decorated the art room. “My mom wanted me to join a public school.”

Marinette’s eyes opened widely. His mother was the one that convinced him to let Adrien go to school? “That must have-“ she realized she shouldn’t phrased that response with an assumed outcome. “That... sorry. I need to be careful about how I phrase stuff.” She took a small breather. “I... I hope it didn’t end negatively.”

How considerate of her. “The argument with my father went for a whole hour; I was clinging to her the whole time while she was bringing up points.” Adrien’s smile that lit up from that comment quickly died again. “And then she disappeared a few days after that.”

“I’m...” Marinette reached over and grabbed his hand that had been on his lap. He turned his head over towards the interaction. “Is there anything we can do to make you feel better?”

“Marinette, you’re making me feel better already.” He blushed after saying that, and so did she. Marinette clearly knew of the innuendos around that phrase and tried to clear her thoughts of incoming perverted things as Adrien looked around the art room once again. The bright colors and the multiple pieces were a great distraction; it let his mind wonder a little bit to drive away its needs of focusing on something else. “Marinette... I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

“For what Adrien?” Marinette said rather fast, probably still in mind the innuendos. But as soon as she took a look at Adrien’s positive demeanor, it quickly disappeared. 

“For being my friend,” Adrien said softly. 

Marinette felt her heart crush ever so slightly. 

“Maybe... for being my nakama.” Adrien blushed more. “That is... if you wanted to be.”

“Adrien...” Marinette seemed rather confused. “What’s a nakama?”

Adrien realized that it was a Japanese thing. His weeaboo is coming out. “A nakama is a Japanese thing. It’s a status you give to a close friend; but it’s like higher than best friend, but below relationships and marriage.”

Marinette’s heart surprisingly didn’t drop from that. 

“I...” Adrien brought both his hands up and fidgeting his fingers. “I understand if you want to stick as friends, and I-“

“Adrien!” She clamped her hands around Adrien’s. “I would love to be your nakama!”

The blonde boy truly smiled that time, and it brought a smile on Marinette’s face. The two remained like that for a full minute before realizing that they haven’t solved anything. 

“Marinette I...” Adrien sighed. “May I... ask you some personal questions?”

“You can ask me anything.” Marinette smiled, offering her cozy and warm embrace.

“I wanted to ask you about some identity stuff,” Adrien said, starting off the conversation. “I grew up with my mom teaching me about destiny, and fate, and the zodiacs. She didn’t teach me how freaky or how ill-natured they can be, but she taught me how it works. She taught me that it’s best to live your life with a heart and to allow optimism to those that struggle.” 

“She sounds like a good person,” Marinette said, recalling seeing her in the theater screen as well as on Adrien’s monitor. 

“She really was,” Adrien sighed. “I grew up kind hearted and gentler towards others. Of course with my busy schedule, I tried to amend for it.”

“I noticed that,” Marinette reflecting back to the past. “You always gave second chances to Chloe, and you always try to be gentle about stuff. Maybe that’s why you downplay things that make you sad like your father?”

Adrien never thought it that way. “What do you mean?”

“Think of it this way,” Marinette suggested. “You’re a model so you’re reserved on what you tell people right?”

“Yeah I’m pretty reserved.”

“It’s because of your social identity as a model that you tend to hide things from people you’re not close to,” Marinette explained. “Granted, it is a case-by-case scenario, but I noticed that every time you have to cancel because of your father, you tell us that it’s fine and that you’ll make up for it next time. That only works once or twice Adrien, not twelve times.”

Adrien slowly slumped down on his hair, taking everything in. He knew everything Marinette said was true; he could even verify it with other scenarios. “Is... is that bad?”

“Yes... and no...” Marinette sighed, realizing she practically gave an unclear answer. “It’s case by case, but really Adrien, there’s nothing wrong with being reserved and kind hearted.”

“Not that.” Adrien corrected. “Is it bad that I have such a busy schedule? Is it bad that I have such limited rules and guidelines?”

“I think anyone who is restricted of their freedom has it bad,” Marinette said out loud. “But I think it’s worse when they can’t get out of it.”

“Oh...” Adrien looked down at his bright orange shoes. 

“Adrien...” Marinette said sadly. “I know this isn’t the life you wanted. Correct me if I’m wrong but, you said your mother raised you more until she went missing, and your father makes you model.”

“Truth be told Marinette,” Adrien said softly, afraid that someone would over hear him. He only told Plagg this so far: “He treats me like a employee that works 24 hours.”

“Adrien!” Marinette stood up from her chair. “That’s... that’s abuse!”

“Marinette...” Adrien said loud enough for her to stop. “It’s okay-“

“It’s not okay!” Marinette said, tears starting to come out again. “It’s not okay to see you have to bear yourself for your fathers’ decisions. It’s not okay to have to see you fake model smiles all day. It’s definitely not okay to see you fake model smiles when you have to cancel plans!”

Adrien paused in silence as he realized that he made Marinette sound angry.

“But do you know what’s worse Adrien?” Marinette asked. “You’re suffering by yourself. Your kind heart makes you vulnerable to disappointments brought by people you care about. It’s one thing to see you suffer by yourself, but it’s another to see you refuse help.”

Adrien, taken back by what Marinette said, sat in silence once again. He knew she was right; he knew she was completely accurate. But he couldn’t face her right now, because she wasn’t angry with him. She was crying, and it pained him to see her so sad. 

“Adrien... I care about you!” Marinette said a little too loud for comfort. “I learned how to decipher your smiles so I can make sure you’re happy. I brought you pastries and did everything I can do to make you smile. Because Adrien... I may be your age, but I really care for you.”

The blonde didn’t even notice another tear dropping from his eye. “Marinette...”

“I remember reading a quote,” Marinette recalled, her voice a little calmer than just before. “I don’t recall the whole thing but let me see if I got it. Completion leads to happiness...”

“...But the perseverance through change grants you glory...” Adrien continued. They both looked at each other as they said together. 

“...And resistance of time grants you legacy.”

The two students looked at each other for a while before realizing that they said the same line. 

Before they could talk, however, an alarm went off on Marinette’s phone. 

“I made sure to give us half an hour for lunch,” she said, pulling out a small box from the floor. Adrien must have been completely blind to not see that. “Want a croissant?”

Adrien smiled one last time. It wasn’t because of the glorious food in front of him, but it was because of the realization that he truly had someone looking out for him (that wasn’t Ladybug or Nino). For once, he didn’t feel like he was going through a barren wasteland on his own. He felt as if a small weight had been lifted off his shoulders. 

He realized that this whole time, moving around because he missed his mother had been affecting someone he cared about. Sure, it’s natural for a son to miss his mother, but it wasn’t the physical presence that he missed. 

It was the heart felt conversations that he truly missed. He missed being able to open himself up; he missed being able to say anything he wanted without being judged. Talking to Marinette so deeply about a topic allowed him to speak with no restraints. He truly wished that he could speak to his mother again, but Marinette was just at great, if not better. 

“Is there a chocolate one?” 

After all, you should be remembering people not because of what they did in the past, but what they did for the future. 

* * *

Lunch ended shortly after that. After exchanging a few snacks and a quick conversation, the two calmed down from their emotional high and walked back to class. 

Adrien felt some sort of confidence coming out of that talk. Sure, it was uncomfortable to begin with, but he was glad that Marinette had talked to him. He learned so much about himself, and he was excited to develop more into these conversations about the self. 

Marinette on the other hand felt so drained. 

The whole talk took a lot of energy from her. She was learning so many new things without trying to get them wrong that she erupted under the social pressures and almost bailed. She felt like she was going to faint truth be told. Her mind felt still and her body felt stiff. 

“Are you sure you’ll be okay Marinette?” Adrien asked, already knowing that Marinette probably felt drained after that talk. He knew this was a first for the both of them; it drained them both. But they couldn’t just leave school or go to the nurse. “I can help you take notes if you need me to?”

“It’s okay Adrien,” Marinette said, not out of niceness but instead out of mind. “I need to focus on academia, or else I’m going to doze off or something.”

The two of them were about to step inside when they saw both Nino and Alya walking up the steps. The couple immediately spotted both Marinette and Adrien walking from the same direction, and immediately thought of... you know.

“Marinette!” Alya screamed, running at her and ditching Nino. “Where were you? I was looking for you all lunch!”

“Sorry Alya,” Marinette said, giving off her best smile. Adrien realize what Marinette said with his model and true smile, because he could tell that Marinette gave her the cute ‘This is the best I could do’ smile. “I’m just a little exhausted, that’s all.”

“Exhausted?” Alya asked, curious what physical activity she could have done in that span to drain her. She faced Adrien, “Do you know what she’s talking about?” 

“We talked in private about something,” Adrien said, scratching the back of his head out of spite. “It got a little heavy.”

“Marinette? Do you need to lie down?” Nino asked. “I can take you to the nurse if you’d like.”

“Thanks Nino,” Marinette said as she faced the classroom. “But I’m fine. We should get to class.”

Marinette allowed Nino and Alya to go first before following them. Before she could however, Adrien pulled her and brought her close. 

“Marinette,” Adrien whispered. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Adrien,” she sighed. “I’m not mentally or physically tired. I’m just a little drained. But don’t worry about it.”

“Are you sure?” Adrien asked once more. 

“Thanks for looking out for me,” she smiled, giving Adrien a surprise as he realized his heart skipped a beat. “But I’m fine like this. Being in this state is allowing my mind to realize what new things I’m learning mentally about myself. It’s good that we’ve put in the effort to learn something important about ourselves you know?”

As Marinette walked in, Adrien stood in shock once again. Marinette was right, being in this state of tiredness is the signal that he is learning about himself. Despite the feedback he receive today being both positive and negative, he’s glad that he took this risk. And he’s even more glad that he feels this drained because it just verifies self development. 

“You like her?” Plagg said, accusing him from his pocket. “Don’t you?”

Adrien looked over to Marinette, who was sitting promptly in her seat grabbing her notebook from her backpack. Her dark blue and black hair seemed to glisten from the light of the windows, her blue bell eyes showing off life and energy. Sure her skin looked pale, but he could see that Marinette was more or less ready for the rest of the day. 

This new side of Marinette that he discovered was affecting more than he realized, and he accepted it. 

“Whatever Plagg,” Adrien walked into the classroom, not noticing that he never denied Plagg of his accusation. 

* * *

The rest of the day went a bit more smoothly. A bit emphasized more only because he was still distracted and sad throughout his extracurriculars.

Fencing was completely distracted with Marinette’s thoughts rather than the anniversary. He resulted with a royal butt kicking from Kagami, who yelled at him afterwards for not being on his focused. 

Chinese was also filled with yelling. He had used incorrect grammar, as well as the wrong measure words inside several sentences during his quiz. The Chinese instructor gave him some criticism, but realized it was getting no where because he got the same question wrong by putting the same answer. 

Finally, piano. As he was playing, he could help but remember Marinette’s words instead of the piece he was playing. This resulted in several wrong notes being played, earning a check in from Natalie. She reported it to his father, who decided that he should practice an hour more.

An extra hour later, he was finally doing homework. Just kidding, he was writing everything that he and Marinette had talked about in a spreadsheet.

“What’s that?” Plagg asked, wondering why the sheet is color coded. 

“It’s a sheet I made a year ago that contains quotes and other stuff. I keep it organized here so I can reference it back by author/creator, year, and by keyword. I can also use-“

“Oh gross,” Plagg dramatically barfed. “You really are a nerd.”

“Hey!” Adrien pouted. “You picked this nerd to be your user!”

Plagg gave him an intense stare before turning back to his Camembert. “I’ll have you know that if I could have, I would have chosen this cheese. Do you know why?”

“Because it’s four days old and it probably tastes better than me?” Adrien asked. 

“Precisely!” Plagg threw the cheese into the air and caught it whilst lying down. 

Adrien ignored the food moans and cries of deliciousness from Plagg as he added today’s conversation onto the spreadsheet.  It’s not creepy at all, Adrien thought to himself. Carefully, he placed in paraphrases of what Marinette had said before. He didn’t remember the whole conversation, but he remembered the big points at least. 

He started this spreadsheet when his mother had disappeared. Initially, this was here to help him cope with the disappearance. Based on some advice he read online, people tended to write letters or paragraphs to their lost ones and grief upon that. Apparently, it helps the person cope because it gives them a false sense of belief that they’re still around and that they’ll read this one day. But the way he saw it seemed cynical.

It might be the philosophical nerd in him, but writing to a dead person seems rather stupid if you ask him. The only reason why people find it easier is because there’s no social barrier- you’re not forced to write it within a deadline, causing no true emotional output from the writer. Deadlines are truly what forces people to show off their abilities; not to mention, it shows people the resources you have available to work with (physically, emotionally, etc). But that wasn’t the real reason why he never simply wrote letters or essays to grieve for his mother- he simply thought it was better to record what she had taught him so that he’ll never forget it. After all, his mother had taught him so many life lessons that maybe he could pass it on or something. 

There was a swift knock on the door, letting Plagg hide off somewhere before Natalie opened the door. 

“Adrien,” Natalie addressed. She noticed that he had that same spreadsheet on again. “Your father wanted me to inform you that your curfew is nearing. What is your progress on your homework?”

Adrien looked at his pile of homework. Most of it was chemistry and math- which will take him longer to complete- but he didn’t think it would take that long. He informed Natalie of his thoughts, and added in that he wanted to put some study time into it as well, seeing as a test was coming up. 

“I will inform your father that you will be extending your curfew by an hour,” Natalie said, writing it in her tablet. “Make sure you go to bed afterwards.”

“Thanks Natalie,” Adrien said, giving off his model smile. 

She nodded back and left the bedroom. Adrien slid back to his computer spot and cracked open a textbook. He didn’t lie that he would take an hour, but he did lie that he needed an hour. He decided to actually do his homework first, and whatever was left he was going to spend updating his spreadsheet.

* * *

Marinette was about to go to bed when she felt her phone vibrate. She really wanted to knock out, so she decided to ignore it. 

The phone vibrated again as Marinette’s head connected with her pillow. Irritated, she turned the other way. 

Her phone vibrated once again. And again. And again. Enraged more than tired, she pulled her phone from its charging station and tapped to read the incoming notifications. 

(23:21) Alya: Check it out girl! They’re making a sequel for the Ladybug and Chat Noir movie!

(23:21) Alya: (link for the website)

(23:22) Alya: What do you think girl?

(23:23) Adrien: Sorry if this is late, but I wanted to thank you again for the talk! You really helped me today!

Marinette smiled at the last message before setting her phone back down. She knew that Adrien was having a rough day, but really? An 11:32pm text thanking her? He couldn’t even wait until the next day?

She sighed loudly, realizing that the recent notifications had woken her up. She wasn’t tired now, after seeing two of her best friends text her late at night. Marinette thought about the whole day, specifically the conversation between her and Adrien. Adrien had seen so lost prior to talking, as if he didn’t know what to do. But he seems knowledgable about the deep conversation topics that were discussed earlier. In fact, they talked for a little bit after, and Adrien seems knowledgable of those topics too. 

She realized that she was probably under estimating the amount of psychological philosophy that Adrien knew. Marinette could barely keep up with what Adrien suggested before. But if he were to ask her anyways, she was afraid that she wouldn’t be able to provide an answer. 

“Marinette…” Tikki said in a tired voice. “What are you doing?”

Marinette sighed as she unlocked her phone and opened a note pad app. “I wanted to record something I have on my mind Tikki. Sorry if I bothered you.” 

“It’s late Marinette…” Tikki yawned as she made herself more comfortable in her pillow. “Get some sleep.” 

“I know,” Marinette said, starting to write in some ideas that they have mentioned. “I’ll be quick.” 

As Tikki went back to her slumber, Marinette started typing ideas. She wrote down on there memories, positivity, and history. She then went to google and started to research on stuff to talk about. 

* * *

The next day, Marinette was sitting at her spot finishing the last touches of her notes. She ultimately moved the notepad onto a google document, allowing her to properly space out her thoughts. She didn’t realize this, but the small thoughts and curiosities of life that she wrote on that notepad ended up taking 4 pages of a google document. She was rather impressed that she filled up so much, but then again how was she going to explain this?

“Hey Marinette,” Adrien greeted, cutting her typing short and catching her attention. 

“Oh hey Adrien!” Marinette greeted, quite nervous as she was suddenly distracted. “Umm-“ she could feel her self blush at her own greeting. “Are you feeling better?”

“Better?” Nino asked, suddenly cutting in. “Were you feeling ill or something?”

“Oh it’s nothing,” Adrien said, smiling at his friend the model smile of assurance. “We were just talking a bit about some personal stuff.”

“You and Marinette were talking about personal stuff?” Alya said, giving Marinette a stare. “And I wasn’t invited?”

“Yup,” Marinette blushed as she turned the other way, “And you’re not invited to today’s session either.” 

“We’re talking again today?” Adrien asked, seeming a little too excited in the eyes of Alya and Nino. “Did you bring snacks?”

Marinette pointed to a box on the ground beside her bag. “I made sure to bring more chocolate croissants like you requested.”

Adrien gave a smile that she rarely seen before- a childish smile. It was one you would see on small children when you give them candy or when they’re at Disneyland. Adrien’s smile then turned into a gasp, as he realized something. “You are an amazing human being. We don’t deserve you.”

Marinette blushed and turned her head the other way as Alya tried to snag a photo of the interaction. Adrien’s childish smile quickly turned into a model one as Marinette hid herself from the camera. 

* * *

“Do you think they followed us?” Adrien asked, coming into the art room.

“I don’t think they know about the secret tunnel,” Marinette said as she set the box of pastries on the table. 

Back when Marinette was Ladybug for an akuma, she had found out that there were emergency fire escapes along the back side of the school that connected with the basement. She and Adrien lured the couple down there and quickly cut their trail by escaping through a fire escape. It brought them to the rooftops, but it was way too cold for them to stay. They went downstairs and went into the art room. 

“How did you learn about it?” Adrien said, deciding ultimately to lock the door. 

Marinette noticed this and she moved the usual spot to a place hidden from view of the classroom door. Their conversations were way too private and with anyone being able to walk in at any moment, they wouldn’t want to risk it. Not to mention, maybe Alya might be recording or something. 

“So what did you want to talk about?” Adrien said as he took his seat behind a canvas for a painting. 

Marinette sat behind a curtain that contained an unveiled painting. “I was thinking about what you said yesterday,” Marinette pulled out her google document on her phone. “And let me know if I’m going too far. Do you remember your mother for what she taught you or for the results of what your mother taught you?”

“That’s a good one,” Adrien said, a little stumped by this question. “Morally speaking, I should be remembering her by what she taught me. But I think I’m both- the results one is me carrying out her legacy right? I’m showing off the results of her teachings and thus carrying out her legacy right? That’s why I think I’m both?”

“You’re right on that,” Marinette said, “I wanted to ask because you brought up yesterday the memories you have with her. And I was curious about if your soul is in the past or if your mind is in the future.”

“I didn’t realize you were going to this route Marinette,” Adrien smiled as a response. He was getting more excited to dwell into these types of conversations. “Okay well- there’s a quote I learned from my mother- to stay in the course of life is happiness, but to change fate is to grant glory. At first, I thought that quote meant that we are all different, and what we do to make ourselves unique will becoming the foundation of what we create as a legacy or as a memory. But my mother told me that that quote has a double message.

“She said that the line means that people who don’t diverge- they stick to the average- will achieve happiness, which in it of itself is one of the best goals in life. Most people would want to live a happy life instead suffer pain and rejection for a legacy.”

“But isn’t suffering pain and rejection what makes us truly human because it shows us that we’re all imperfect social beings that have to cooperate to succeed?” Marinette asked. “I thought it was the rejection and pain that made people what to seek glory- not that it’s a masochist thing but it was because people want pain and rejection to act as obstacles and stepping stones for their ultimate goal in life.”

“You’re right about that,” Adrien said, “The path to change requires challenges and conflict- after all, conflict is what moves people and stories forward with time. I guess what I’m trying to say is, so is staying content and happy humanistic? Since people aren’t willing to face rejection and fate and avoid anything that builds character, are they truly following humanistic footsteps?”

“That does bring up a good point,” Marinette wondered out loud. “I think I wrote something for this.”

She opened her phone and skimmed her document until she found something similar. She also saw the copious amount of spam she was receiving from Alya. Marinette ignored it. 

“I wrote this last night,” Marinette said, putting her phone away. “And now I remember. So you’re saying that people aren’t following the steps to bring human because people who stay content aren’t getting involved with conflict?”

“Yup,” Adrien said as he accounted his thoughts. “That sounds about right.”

“I don’t think we should be using the term ‘being human’ as a rite of passage but rather as something quantifiable.” Marinette suggested.

“Quantifiable?” Adrien asked, a little curious to hear a response. “I see why but please continue.”

“I think what you’re referring to is a little different,” Marinette said. “But for those that don’t pursuit conflict and ultimately not helping humanity progress, they’re still human. I would say they’re less human, but they’re still people Adrien.”

“I didn’t mean to come off as that,” Adrien said, blushing a little bit. “But you’re right to say that they are not helping humanity progress. However, that’s accounting humanity as a community. I want to know about the person themselves.”

“If a person chooses to remain content and become happy,” Marinette started off. “They’re still human. They may not be joining or ending conflicts, but they may start them. Not to mention, I think-“

And that’s when Marinette realized it. 

“Wait a minute,” Marinette said herself. “Everyone wants to become famous. Well... not famous but everyone wants to set off a legacy or do something! Right? The philosophy isn’t that people want to remain content, rather people want to do what they can to the best of their abilities. And because of that, conflict is made between intercepting groups, causing battles and changing fate! People are naturally going to be getting into conflict. And in the end they will leave a legacy- you tricked me!”

Adrien smiled as he remembered this exact conversation before. His mother gave him that same problem, and he was so confused about what she was referring to. But after a few days, Adrien worked his butt off to realize that people truly want to do what very they want and ultimately leave a legacy. He went back to his mother after that and explained his thinking. Adrien could still remember the exciting cheer, and the hug that followed. 

“Congratulations Marinette,” Adrien said as he gave her a hug. “You got something that took me days to realize in minutes.” 

“It took you days to realize this?” Marinette realized that she was in a middle of a hug from her crush, and she started stuttering again. “B-but weren’t you… like younger?”

Adrien let go of Marinette, missing the sad pout on her face as he went back to his seat. He readjusted himself before answering Marinette’s question. “I was ten when she asked me Marinette. Of course it would take me longer.”

“Hey Adrien…” Marinette somewhat whispered. “You… you haven’t answered my question.”

“Oh right-“ Adrien realized that he answered a question about his mother by leading a discussion of humanity. “I do both yes,” he said, slowly recalling. “I miss her for her presence and kindness, but at the same time, I also miss what she taught me. I think I became who I really am right now because of her. And I’m forever grateful for it- I carry on her legacy by talking to people like you about what I’ve learned from her.”

“It must have been hard,” Marinette said out loud, cutting his train of thought. “I wanted to ask, how did your father move on?”

“Truth be told,” Adrien replied. “He probably took it harder than me. They were who they are because of each other- they changed fate and they changed society together.” 

“Reminds me of another duo,” Marinette sighed. “So do you think it’s because of the rate you’re recovering that you separated from your father?”

“Excuse me?” Adrien asked, a little surprised at the question.

“Moving on from something like this is different. It feels harder to move on when you realize someone suffering the same fate is moving on faster than you,” Marinette quoted. “I was wondering if that could be a factor.”

“Marinette...” Adrien sighed, raising his legs so he was hugging them on the stool. “I... I think you’re right but I don’t want to say it. Because I’m still moving on from my mother.”

“Adrien...” Marinette said, placing a hand on his knee, two inches away from his blonde hair. “I here to listen too you know.”

Adrien smiled, loosening up his posture a little bit. He took a deep breath, and looked over to the beautiful girl in front of him. 

_Beautiful? When did that happen?_

“Thanks Marinette,” he smiled brighter. “You’re such a good friend.”

Even that didn’t feel right.

* * *

“So where were you two love birds?” Alya asked Marinette as they left the school.

“Love birds?” Marinette exclaimed, hushing the journalist as fast as she can. “Alya don’t say that out loud we were just talking about some stuff and then ahhhhhhhhhhh Alya it was amazing and-“

“Slow down girl,” Alya said, assuring her that she had time. “We can break down everything once-“

“WHERE ARE YOU KIM?!?!”

“-once I get this akuma,” Alya checked her bag for her phone and for a portable battery, and then ran towards the direction of the voice. 

“Bye Alya...” Marinette waved as she went back into he school. 

Both Marinette and Adrien transformed into their respective selves as they went into battle.

* * *

“Do you think I’m doing the right thing Plagg?”

The black kwami looked at his owner with his green, piercing eyes before looking back at the beautiful Camembert in front of him. “Nope,” Plagg said as he tossed it into the air. “But when are we really?” He ate it in one bite. “Unless it’s Camembert!”

“I’m beginning to think you’re a dumbass about philosophical theories,” Adrien said as he dropped his pencil over his finished chemistry homework. “But I also have this theory that you’re an insanely intelligent God that just uses Camembert as confusing analogies that have dual meanings.”

“You’re right about one of those two things,” Plagg laid down on the cushion provided to him. “I do love my Camembert!”

“Plagg I never disagreed with you,” Adrien said as he took out his phone. 

He and Marinette had been texting more often, and he loved every second of it. With Nino, you can only text someone about something so often, and the same goes with Alya. But with Marinette, he could tell her or text her anything. He could text her deep philosophical questions or he could send her memes of a cat. And she would love both (he hoped she liked both, she only responded both with heart and laughing emojis). 

“You okay Adrien?” Plagg said as he floated next to his ear. He made Adrien jump from the sudden question, almost dropping his phone. 

“Plagg!” Adrien said in an angry-ish tone. Maybe not as angry as his phone was okay. 

“Adrien, you’ve been on your phone for the past twenty minutes,” Plagg explained. “Normally it takes me fifteen minutes for me to casually fly up after eating some Camembert. It then takes me a solid three minutes to go look for more cheese,” he showed Adrien his new piece of Camembert. “I also sat back down but I’ve been lazily calling you for the past twenty minutes.”

Was he staring at his phone for 20 minutes? Just reading his and Marinette’s texts? He checked the time and a little bit over twenty minutes passed!

“You finished your chemistry homework twenty minutes ago,” Plagg said at his desk. “And you still haven’t started on any other subject. This friend of yours seems really important to you- seeing that you’re so distracted by her.”

Plagg almost seemed to say that last line like he was planning it. But Adrien paid no mind to it. Instead, he started remembering the conversations he had with her. Marinette helped him cope for such a long time that he didn’t realize she was actually doing anything at all. She explained how she started bringing pastries after she saw him being sad a few months ago.

Wait- a few months ago? Adrien focused back on the date. His birthday was a few months ago! Did she get him anything?

“Plagg,” Adrien asked. “Did Marinette get me anything for my birthday?”

“I don’t know,” Plagg said as he stared down his Camembert. “This cheese is calling me- I can’t help you this time Adrien.”

Adrien stood up and walked over to his bed. He tried to remember those days events. Nino did come to his house and get akumatized; Marinette has gone to the party that Bubbler hosted; he and Ladybug saved the day, and it cleared all the party stuff. 

“Wait a minute,” Adrien went back to his desk and sat down in front of the computer. He quickly went on and signed into the security camera program used for the mansion and scrolled back a few months. Technically, he shouldn’t have known the password, but Natalie and his father always use it- seeing them sign in on the tablets had given him access. He found his birth date and found the time of the party. 

He saw that Marinette had entered his house- holding a gift! He recognized that wrapping paper too! 

“Plagg!” Adrien exclaimed. “No way.”

“Hmm?” Plagg was about to eat the second piece of Camembert. “What is it kid?”

“Did Marinette make me that scarf?” Adrien asked. “Hang on.”

Adrien walked into this closet and walked over to the accessories side. He quickly found the blue scarf and walked out of the closet, closely inspecting the article. The blue scarf was made with precision, having interlocking lace and machine embroidery. It seemed too good to be hand made though. 

“Wait a minute,” Adrien realized that he still had the hat- Marinette’s feather hat! He quickly ran back inside and went to the accessories section. Placed on display on a mannequin head was the bowler hat. He lifted up the hat and flipped it upside down, revealing the Marinette signature lace on its side. 

He turned the scarf over, and realized that the interlocking lace that he saw earlier was really Marinette’s signature lace!

Thwamp!

“You okay there Adrien?” Plagg slowly drifted into the closet, full of Camembert when he saw the fallen mannequin on the floor. The pillar it rested on was also on the ground, and Adrien sat on the floor on his knees crying. 

He had been wearing this for months! It had been his favorite scarf for so long, and for the longest time he barely realized that his dick of a father had plastered his name on it! How dare he! 

But the worst feeling was that he wore it to school! To photo shoots! Hell- he wore it to a event and his father even asked him where he got it from! How blunt was he? And that was quickly over shadowed by the fact that Marinette had been silent this whole time!

“You okay Adrien?” Plagg said, sitting on the floor next to him. He made sure the blonde boy in tears looked at him before explaining. He sighed first. “I knew it was that girl that made the scarf for you.”

Adrien looked bewildered at his kwami. “Why!” He shrieked, “why didn’t you tell me?”

Plagg sighed once more, making the now impatient Adrien Agreste scrunch over towards the kwami. “You were happy Adrien. For once you didn’t a box set of pens or some shit like that. You got an actual gift wrapped and especially made for you.” 

Adrien was about to strangle his kwami when he fell to the ground. He continued crying, leaning on his side as he gripped the scarf in his hand. “I... why didn’t you tell me Plagg?”

“I just said it kid,” Plagg said, now seeing the Marinette signature logo on the scarf. “You weren’t ready.”

“Adrien?” 

Plagg quickly vanished and hid away as Natalie knocked on the door. 

“I heard a loud noise Adrien,” Natalie said, knocking once more. “Can I come in?”

Adrien sat up from his spot and quickly observed the mess he made. Tears were on carpeted floor, the mannequin and the pillar were both pushed as well- and were really heavy too. 

“Natalie...” Adrien said, his voice dry and filled with sorrow. “I’m fine.”

“I’ll tell your father you dropped a text book.” 

“Thank you.”

Natalie left the door.

“Plagg?” Adrien called. “Why do you think she did it?”

“Who?” Plagg asked. 

“Marinette,” Adrien asked. “Why did she hide his from me for the longest time?”

“Like I said earlier kid,” Plagg signed. “You looked so happy before this. It was best we hid it from you.”

Adrien didn’t understand why she did it. He didn’t understand why he kept crying that night. He recognized that soon after that, he didn’t understand why his father did a lot of things. 

“Want to call it a night kid?”

He didn’t understand why his mother disappeared. 

“No thank Plagg.”

He didn’t understand why he shut himself away from Adrien. 

“I’m just gonna take five more minutes.”

He didn’t understand a lot of what was going on.

“... fine.”

He did understand, however, that his mother did everything she could to protect him and to teach him everything she could. 

“It’s just... I’m worried about you kid.”

That was his mother- why would Marinette do something like that? They weren’t related or anything. 

A flashback of the umbrella scene popped into his mind. He could remember the first time he opened up, and offered his umbrella. Marinette has been flabbergasted and wrong about her impression of Adrien. Since then, they started on the road to friendship.

Another flashback came, this time of Marinette in the art room yesterday. She was crying, but held strong as she said to him:  But do you know what’s worse Adrien?” Marinette asked. “You’re suffering by yourself. Your kind heart makes you vulnerable to disappointments brought by people you care about. It’s one thing to see you suffer by yourself, but it’s another to see you refuse help.”

“Adrien... I care about you. I learned how to decipher your smiles so I can make sure you’re happy. I brought you pastries and did everything I can do to make you smile. Because Adrien... I may be your age, but I seriously care for you.”

Adrien gripped the scarf tightly until his fingers were purple. Why? Why was someone like Marinette doing this for him?

“Adrien...” Plagg waddled over to him. He sat beside his leg and just sat quietly there. 

The two sat inside the closet, mannequin still on the ground, the pillar tipped over, the carpet stained of dust and chips of porcelain. Adrien sat there with Plagg for another twenty minutes- until Natalie told him that it was time for him to go to sleep. 

* * *

The next morning, Adrien arrived at the school twenty minutes earlier than he normally would. He texted Marinette to come early too, revealing to her that he would just like to talk before class started. 

He sat patiently in the classroom as the clock ticked twenty minutes until class starts. He kept fidgeting his fingers and lightly tapped his foot on the ground. Adrien wasn’t the one for being impatient, but every moment felt like a million seconds. 

“Adrien!” Marinette dashed into the classroom. “Sorry I’m late it’s just-“

“-can we talk?” Adrien got up and grabbed her wrist. “Alone?” He whispered.

Marinette, for the time that she knew him, had never seen him so nervous and anxious. She could feel his hand shaking her wrist, and the ‘alone’ was said with a shaky voice and tone. Sure, most people act like that- hell, she did too- but the one thing that caught her eye was his eyes. His green, jade eyes bloomed caution and fear. 

“Let me drop this here and then we can go,” Marinette dropped her backpack off and grabbed the small box of pastures with her. “Let’s go.”

Marinette and Adrien walked together towards the art room, with Adrien walking a little more intensively faster. Marinette cursed her shorter legs and she closed the gap between the two. 

“Check it out,” Alya tapped Nino’s shoulder. “Love birds at 2:00. Second floor.”

Nino looked up and almost spatted the water in his hydroflask. “No way.”

“Let’s follow them,” Alya threw her tablet into her backpack and immediately chased after them. Nino quickly followed as soon as he could put away his thermos. 

As soon as both Marinette and Adrien entered the art room, the blonde shut the door behind him. Marinette quickly set the pastries down and opened the box. 

“Why did you hide it?” Adrien asked Marinette as he grabbed a chocolate croissant. Marinette realized that this was a new stage of Adrien that she had never seen before. He seemed panicked and worried, afraid and self-cautious, but at the same time… angry? 

“Hide what?” Marinette said, looking into the box. “There’s also a passion fruit macaroon inside too.” 

“Why did you hide the scarf from me?” Adrien asked. 

“What scarf?”

“The scarf you made me for my birthday!” 

The room fell silent after that. Even Nino and Alya who were behind the door could hear the sudden silence. 

“I figured it out yesterday,” Adrien explained in a softer voice. His back brace of anger and frustration suddenly left, leaving behind a silhouette of sadness and fear. “Why didn’t you say anything Marinette?”

Marinette dropped the croissant that she grabbed into the box. Her heart skipped a beat as she suddenly didn’t remember why she never told him. And then the memory of her hiding behind the steps of the school entrance filled her mind, and she said as fast as she could remember. “It’s because you looked so happy!”

“Happy?” Adrien said in shock.

“You were so happy your father didn’t get you a set of pens!” Marinette recalled from what Nino had told her. 

Nino and Alya, who were behind the door, both slid down and sat at the doorway into the art room. They completely forgotten about the whole scarf incident, and they’ve forgotten about how impactful this event would be to Adrien if he did found out. They looked at each other in support as they realized that Marinette was alone in the room with him- and she was the main culprit. 

“But why did you hide it from me?” Adrien exclaimed. “You could have told me the truth in the beginning!”

“It’s because you looked so miserable!” Marinette said, a tear coming out of her eye. “Adrien! You deserve to be happy once in a while!”

Adrien took a step back, realizing that Marinette was right- they were hiding this secret for him, not against him. 

“Your father is one of the most shittiest people in the world,” Marinette stated. “Despite his fame, and glory, he is still your father and he should treat you like his son. Don’t you ever realize how little you have it? How many freedoms are taken away from you?”

After a moment of silencehe is still your goddamn father Adrien! Everything I know about your father coming from you is a reason why he’s a shitty person!” 

“Marinette…”

“Adrien! Your father didn’t let you go to public school! He forgets your birthday and gets Natalie to get you a present-“

“Wait he does that?”

“He’s making you work and date Lila Rossi!”

“Okay fine but-“

“He banned Nino from your house and didn’t let you celebrate your birthday that he forgot!”

“But that’s subjective because-“

“Adrien!” Marinette stopped the arguing. “You can’t call something subjective when the situation is straightforward!”

“Okay okay!” Adrien said, his face flustered up from anger, but now slowly turning back to normal. “I know he’s not the best father in the world…”

“Adrien, you call him father and not dad.”

“Not the point,” Adrien cut her off. “But I can’t just leave him or cut him off. He’s my only family left.”

“But Adrien!” Marinette looked down, blushing as she admitted out loud. “Me, Alya, and Nino are your chosen family!” 

Adrien was about to argue back, but then he stopped. His mind was coming up with a million things to argue about, but his mouth wouldn’t open or his voice wouldn’t come out. 

“I’m right,” Marinette said, completely confident at her accusation. “You do care for your friends.”

“M-Marinette I-“ Adrien paused as Marinette grabbed his shoulders and pushed him closer to her. Not for a hug, but for her to rest her head on his chest. 

“The reason why I hid it from you Adrien,” she said, her voice softer and cozier to hear. “Is because you came into school with a fake model smile that day. And that day I had the gift in my locker.”

And she explained the whole story. She explained how nervous she felt trying to give the gift to him, but something happened and she missed her shot. Marinette explained in great detail the gift wrapping, how it was wrapped, and how the scarf was made. And even when she dropped off the gift at his house, Marinette explained in detail how scared she was, and how the camera snake didn’t help her at all. 

“And when Nino was akumatized, I snuck into the house and I left my name on a post it note. I think Natalie or your father simply took the note off and gave it to you.” Marinette took a deep breath. “And that’s how it came to be.”

Marinette looked up after explaining the story. She had forgotten that she was leaning against his chest the whole time, turning the hold on his shoulders into a hug. She looked up, and saw that Adrien had been in tears the whole time. 

Adrien was speechless. He was completely obvious about the whole endeavor, and he had been for the past few months. 

“Marinette…” he was completely moved by the whole movement. No one had ever gone through this whole effort for him- not even his own mother. “I… I…”

“Adrien!” Marinette separated herself from the boy, who took a seat from being so unstable to stand up. “I’m so sorry about that I didn’t realize that I would make you cry and-“

Marinette didn’t know what happened that moment. Alya and Nino, who were face plastered against glass watching, also didn’t know what happened at that moment. Even Adrien didn’t know what happened that moment- just kidding, he knew what was happening. 

Adrien dashed forward and grabbed Marinette into a hug. Marinette froze in place as Adrien’s somewhat larger frame completely draped over her. His engaged breathing had turned into a steady heart beat; his face dried of tears and now were flushed with color. His shaky arms were now lax, now providing warmth and projecting support. 

“Thank you Marinette.” Adrien’s whisper of fear and sadness had disappeared and were replaced with happiness and tears. The boy still felt shaky, but it didn’t resonate from any negative emotions. Adrien’s demeanor changed throughout that conversation, and it also changed in his body language. 

Marinette blushed as she could feel the small pluses of breath coming down her neck. This wasn’t the first time that she was this close to Adrien, but this felt like the first time. In fact, she felt more emotionally connected this time than her birthday kiss. She slowly gave into this hug, closing her eyes and letting herself immerse into the feeling. 

“Don’t worry about it,” Marinette smiled. “I would do this for all of my friends. And I think you would too.” 

Adrien smiled, leaning more into the hug subconsciously. “I don’t think I could do this for Nino or for Alya to be honest.”

Marinette’s eyes popped open as she realized what Adrien said. 

“It’s because I can only do this sort of thing with you Marinette,” Adrien said, deepening the hug. “You’re our everyday Ladybug. Everything you do is to help people progress into happiness after all.”

Marinette chuckled as she looked at her phone.

“SHIT CLASSES START IN TWO MINUTES!”

* * *

“So what should we do now?”

Marinette sat down at the end of the riverbank. Dangling her feet along the sides, she adjusted her purse so it wouldn’t dangle over the edge, making sure that Tikki wouldn’t fall over to the side. “Alya, can we talk?”

Adrien sat down at a bench in the park. The photoshoot was stalled for a small break, and he was spending those free 20 minutes with Nino, who he had texted prior to stop by. “Nino, can we talk?”

“Sure,” they both said to their respective friends. “What seems to be the problem?”

“I don’t know where I’m going with this,” Marinette sighed as she brought her phone out. “I’ve been talking to Adrien and-“

“Wait wait wait-“ Alya dropped down beside her and grabbed her shoulders. “You talked to Adrien?!?!”

“Yes yes yes-“ Marinette said as she was shook back and forth. “Alya!” 

The redhead sighed as she stopped shaking her best friend. “You were saying?”

“Adrien and I talked for a few weeks,” Marinette said, reminiscing that first day. “It started weeks ago when I found him at school really sad and depressed.”

“Adrien was depressed?” Alya asked, confused because sunshine boy never seemed sad to her. “When was this?”

“Adrien knows how to fake smiles Alya,” Marinette stared. “He’s a model remember.”

“Marinette and I were talking,” Adrien started off to his best friend. 

“What’s wrong with that?” Nino said as he took his headphones off his neck and placed them on his lap. “Marinette is the best person to talk to for advice and stuff.”

“Exactly,” Adrien sighed. “A few weeks ago, I was really bummed about a family matter, and Marinette caught me.”

“Family matter?” Nino asked, already scheming an idea in his mind. “Is this your father and his over protectiveness?”

“No no nothing about father,” Adrien claimed. “Anyway, Marinette caught me being sad and asked what was wrong.”

“How did she catch you?” Nino asked. “Did she like sneak up on you or something?”

“No no it’s my smile,” Adrien stated. “Marinette knows my poker face apparently.”

“Bummer dude,” Nino apologized. “What did she say?”

“She asked about my problem,” Adrien started. “And I somehow started crying in front of her for it. I started breaking down and just...in front of her.”

“Wow dude,” Nino said, reclining his back so he could face the sky.

“So you’re telling me Adrien Agreste has a poker face?” Alya asked. “Damn. And I thought he was just pure sunshine.”

“That’s what I thought too,” Marinette said as she could remember what happened as if it was yesterday. “He told me about his... family problem that he was experiencing that day, and he started breaking down.”

“Oh no did he-“

“He completely broke down for like ten minutes.” Marinette said, cutting her friend off. “I just provided him comfort you know. I gave him tissues and back pats and a presence.”

“So what happened after that?” Both Nino and Alya asked. 

“Adrien told me about his mother,” Marinette said in a lower voice. “She was an actress. A beautiful woman with blonde hair and a perfect voice. She was the nicest person in the industry- Emilie Agreste.”

“Emilie Agreste?” Alya looked towards the water of the Seine. “She sounds familiar.”

“She was a big impact on Adrien,” Marinette explained. “She was the one who made him into who he is today.”

“That’s awesome,” Alya remarked. “But why was he sad about his mother?”

“I told her everything,” Adrien said while looking at his ring. “I told her about how I got into public school and what not.”

“And what did Marinette say about it?” Nino asked. 

“Nothing,” Adrien remembered. “She was really considerate at not negatively answering, but you can tell that she was really happy that I’m here.”

“And what about after that?”

“We started talking about me and how I function ask a person,” Adrien remarked. “Yeah- I remember how she told me that I always give people second chances to redeem themselves.”

“He wants to live out his life following his mother’s examples and philosophies,” Marinette said, swinging her feet back and forth. “That’s why he’s the type to give people second chances- his mother taught him that people always deserve an opportunity for redemption.”

“What about Chloe Bougeois?” both Nino and Alya asked. “She got so many second chances.”

“Chloe Bougeois was my only friend growing up,” Adrien replied. “She just wasn’t in the right mind space with her mother.”

“What does that mean?” Nino asked, eyeing him in suspicion. 

“I learned from her what not to do,” Adrien scoffed. “My mother taught me at a young age that everything happens for a reason- positive or negative, everything occurs so that we can get conflict and development in our lives.”

“Dude, that’s really deep,” Nino reclined against the bench and looked up at the sky once more. “Your mother is really smart.”

“Thanks Nino,” Adrien smiled. “I learned a lot from her- positive, and negative.”

“Chloe Bouegois is realistically a version of her mother that wants to grow and become independent” Marinette sighed. “She was the only friend Adrien had outside of his family. And seeing him turn out like this probably shook her for the long run. Chloe started being nice remember; she’s smart enough to know that her mother isn’t the best person in the world, but she grew up like that.”

“Chill Marinette,” Alya said as she leaned against her. “This is Adrien we’re talking about, not Chloe.”

“I guess,” Marinette sighed. “But yeah. Adrien sees opportunity with her, and we just have to see what happens and deal with it.”

“Negative?” Nino asked in regard to that add-on. “What do you mean dude?”

“Marinette brought up a point after that,” Adrien said, remembering the conversation. “She told me that I downplay situations that are more serious than I realize.”

“Marinette,” Alya continued. “It seems to me that you’re going to help him with it.”

“Of course Alya,” Marinette scoffed. “I’m the class president- I have to make equality within our classroom. Not to mention,” Alya gave her the stare. “I think Adrien is right. We just need to-“

“Wait wait wait,” Alya injected. “We were talking about his mother! Let’s continue!”

“Oh right-“ Marinette sat back up after slowly slouching forward over the period of their conversation. “So after he mentioned his mother, I sort of told him that he’s the type to downplay situations.”

“I’m sorry what!” Alya said, surprised at her response. “You roasted him?”

“She roasted you?” Nino asked out of nowhere.

“She didn’t-“ Adrien hesitated. “She brought up that it wasn’t healthy that I downplay stuff like my father saying no and whatnot.” 

“She’s right though,” Nino agreed. “You downplay everything your father rejects, including how he caused me to become akumatized.”

“No no I didn’t!” Marinette blushed. “I told him that he really just... he’s the type to think that a situation isn’t that serious. And when it escalates, he’s the one to go to a side and ask them to calm down before engaging, you know?”

“That sounds like a Chat Nori sort of thing,” Alya brought up. “He always talks to the akuma before battling them. He makes puns and jokes, but it’s still the fact that he talks to them to stop before engaging.”

“Alya that’s different,” Marinette brushed off. “I told him this and then he asked if it was bad. I told him that it wasn’t that bad, but it’s not healthy to consistently do. It’s like the whole thing with his father banning him from stuff- the first few times it’s fine but after twelve times? And remember the other stuff that happened that got our friends akumatized?”

“I know Nino,” Adrien sighed, hearing this a second time didn’t help his situation. “I just... I want to become a better person by being able to recognize these sorts of things. I was raised with good intentions and morals but that’s shit if I don’t have actual practice to carry out those theories.”

“Shit you right,” Both Alya and Nino said as they sighed in agreement. “What happened after that?”

“Marinette told me how she felt about it,” Adrien said, making Nino’s jaw drop. 

“What did Marinette say dude?” Nino said, a little amped up.

“I told Adrien that I really cared for him,” Marinette admitted. “I told him that seeing him come into class with that fake smile makes me so sad.”

Alya straightened her back at what she was hearing.

“It’s one thing to see that once in a while,” Marinette ranted, “but it’s another thing to see that almost daily Alya. He’s our sunshine child but he’s been depressed for the past few months!”

“She said she really cared about my well-being,” Adrien stated. “She could see me depressed when no one else could. I hide my sadness with this facade of smiles you know, so no one really notices.”

“Dude,” Nino realized. “I’m so sorry that I never noticed.”

“That’s okay Nino,” Adrien smiles, “I hid it from everyone, so it’s my own fault.”

“I don’t think I ever realized it,” Alya sighed. “Damn. People really be out here with double lives and identities.”

“That’s actually why I brought more pastries recently,” Marinette admitted as well. “Just doing those small things really makes a big difference.”

“Is that why you were trying to change things up?” Alya asked curiously. 

“Of course,” Marinette replied. 

“Wait-“ Nino realized. “Is that a real smile or a model smile?”

Adrien smiles for real as he let out a chuckle. “Don’t worry Nino. I’m trying to change that.”

“After all,” both Adrien and Marinette said at the same time. “Completion leads to happiness, but the perseverance through change grants you glory, and resistance of time grants you legacy.”

Nino and Alya stared at their friends in disbelief as Adrien and Marinette silently chuckled to themselves.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay honestly, I have no idea how to end a story like this, so I’ll leave a link to a straw poll for anyone to decide. The next time I’ll update this won’t be anytime soon, so you have a lot of time to decide. 
> 
> Here’s some reasons why I wanted to poll:  
> 1) I haven’t talked about any akumas nor have I talked about fight scenes. Should we keep this akuma-free? Reveal free?  
> 2) the main point of the story is about the discussions, not reveal. But I think this could really help the reveal become more powerful.  
> 3) this will end with the OG Marinette/Adrien ship so ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ 
> 
> https://strawpoll.com/sk2begp2 
> 
> I don’t know when I’ll update but if this gets good feedback, maybe sooner?
> 
> And comment below whether or not you believe everything talked about in this chapter. The next one talks more about happiness and how it’s different for everyone. And the third refers back to the original philosophy of this story. I insist you leave feedback below, as well as where you stand on the philosophy. Do you believe it? Did you learn something new today? Do you think this is bullshit and is bad? Let me know!
> 
> Have a nice day! ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ  
> -Negira


End file.
